While Samsung was the first out the gate to publicly announce their Windows Phone 8 device, the ATIV S is definitely taking it's time to come to various markets. The Italian market was due to see the ATIV S in November which was eventually pushed back to sometime this month.

According to sources from Samsung Italy, The Italian release of the Windows Phone 8 device has now been delayed to the end of January 2013.

The cause for the delay is a bit of a mystery seeing that the ATIV S is already available in other markets. We've even heard that Expansys USA has begun shipping their pre-orders for the ATIV S.

The Expansys version features just 16GB (but expandable) and is SIM Unlocked with the following bands: HSPA 42Mbps 850/900/1900/2100MHz EDGE/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900MHz . It can be purchased here for $649. Though not a bad offering, we should caution you that CES is right around the corner, meaning US carriers may announce this device, subsidized and with LTE support.

Hopefully the ATIV S fans in Italy won't see any further delays and will begin seeing the ATIV S on shelves shortly.

Yes, this phone would look fantastic with Android, or even iOS, in it. But for some reason, it doesn't look so good with the aesthetics of WP OS. But still glad it's here, even just to silence all those who would otherwise say WP8 is less capable because it can't do bigger screen, expandable storage, and removable battery.